The General
by Willowfan
Summary: Jonathan Kent has a secret. Clark is about to discover it. What has Clark's father been hiding for so many years?


**Disclaimer****:**I own nothing. Someone else really, really smart owns everything. I am just taking this little idea for a spin to kick up some dirt!

**Pairings****:**None really.

**Rating****: **K

**Crossing****:**Smallville and ? (It would totally ruin the surprise)

**Feedback****:**Is the air I breathe...please do.

S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~S~~~~

Clark sighed as he easily lifted the four bails of hay and tossed them up into the loft. It wasn't that he hated his chores; it was just that he had other things on his mind…namely Lana. She was everything he had ever wanted in the world. She was kind, she was smart and she was absolutely gorgeous. She was also dating someone else.

Looking around the barn, which was now cleaned out and ready to haul the old tractor in for repairs, Clark noticed that there was something odd about the look of the open area. Something he couldn't really put his finger on. Squinting slightly, he watched as the room shifted and he saw the area with his x-ray vision. "There's another room over there." He mumbled.

Walking over, he looked at the wall and frowned. There was no real door, just an area of the wall that wasn't fastened. A big area. He was about to open the wall when he heard the sputtering of the old tractor coming towards the barn. Turning, he looked and saw his dad riding and coaxing the old thing to sputter a few more feet. The tractor, sometimes referred to as the most stubborn member of the Kent family, refused to roll another foot and died.

"I really don't need this today…" Clark heard his father, Jonathan Kent, mumble. Looking up, Jonathan smiled crookedly. "Clark?"

Clark grinned back. "You know…we could just get a new one." He said, walking out and grabbing the plow bar on the front of the tractor, where the plow was connected in the winter. Effortlessly, Clark towed the old tractor into the barn and turned around, still grinning.

"Just because something is old, doesn't mean that you need to replace it. This old girl still has a lot of years left on her." Jonathan said, hopping down and walking over to the toolbox.

"Dad…I have a question." Clark said suddenly, remembering the room. "It may be a little personal." He muttered quickly.

Jonathan looked up and raised his eyebrow. "You can ask me anything, Clark. You know that." He said, kneeling down and beginning to pull off the engine cover for the tractor.

"What's with the secret room?" Clark bluntly asked, chucking his thumb back over his shoulder towards the barn wall.

Jonathan suddenly stopped, staring intently at the tractor, and swallowed hard. He inhaled a deep breath, exhaling slowly and closed his eyes. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice that." He said softly, standing up.

Clark suddenly felt nervous. He took a small step backwards as Jonathan calmly, to calmly for Clarks comfort, set his wrench on top of the tractor and walked towards Clark.

"It's been hidden for nearly sixteen years, since I moved to Smallville." Jonathan said.

"Moved to…I thought you always lived here." Clark said, confused now.

Jonathan shook his head. "Nope. I moved here in 1987 after I testified in front of a grand jury. The man that owned this farm, the man you think is your grandfather, was kind enough to take me in." he sighed. "I was placed in witness protection. He said I was his prodigal son returned home at last." Jonathan smiled.

"That room holds one of the pieces of my old life. Something I have had safely tucked from the world for nearly sixteen years. A small piece of my past, left over from a capricious youth." Jonathan said, pointing at the wall. "Do you really want to see?"

Clark started at his dad and nodded imperceptibly.

Jonathan smiled. "Ok. I guess it's time the old man saw some light again." He grinned, almost eagerly.

Clark watched as Jonathan pushed on the wall until a gap wide enough for his hand opened. He reached behind the wall and pulled, making the entire section open, the wood creaking in protest at having been disturbed after so long. After the wall opened, Jonathan looked lovingly at the dusty, cobweb-covered lump of cloth in the large room.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

Jonathan motioned over to the other side of the lump. "Help me uncover it." He said.

Clark rolled the tarp back along with his dad to uncover…

"A car?" Clark frowned. "You were hiding a car?"

Jonathan frowned, looking hurt. "A car? This is more than a car!" he defended the vehicle. "This is a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T with a 440 engine and 727 automatic transmission! This piece of American art was my biggest love and greatest joy…until your mother came along." He grinned.

Clark looked at the bright, hemi orange car with the large '01' on the side and raised an eyebrow. "But it's a car, dad."

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "The General Lee is not just a car, you just don't understand the finer things in life son."

Clark reached for the door handle and pulled. The door didn't open. "The door doesn't even work."

Jonathan lowered his head and softly thumped it on the roof. "Lord give me strength." He muttered.


End file.
